New Avast Marine Auto feeder

[PedroYoung]

Yes! The Jerky was actually the reason we developed the Plank! Unfortunately there was a supply chain issue that prevented a simultaneous release of these products. That has now been resolved and we should have it back in stock with limited availability very soon. Anyone who has already purchased a Plank will get first opportunity to buy at a super discount and we will contact you directly. After that we will release it for all.

Sweet, you can ship me some with my plank when it's ready

Peter Young

 

[Oberst Hajj]

@AVAST Marine just FYI, but when I go to your Contact Us page, your site returns a 404 error imbedded in the page.

I wanted to ask if was possible to have two Planks feeding into a single mixing chamber? I would like to feed different foods at different rates/times of the day and I'd like to feed via the return section of my sump. If possible, I'd like to have a single mixing chamber positioned right above my dual return pumps that two Planks facing face to face feed through. Does that make sense?

 

[AVAST Marine]

@AVAST Marine just FYI, but when I go to your Contact Us page, your site returns a 404 error imbedded in the page.

I wanted to ask if was possible to have two Planks feeding into a single mixing chamber? I would like to feed different foods at different rates/times of the day and I'd like to feed via the return section of my sump. If possible, I'd like to have a single mixing chamber positioned right above my dual return pumps that two Planks facing face to face feed through. Does that make sense?

Ad blockers sometimes block our pop up support window, you can always email [email protected]

We have mocked up the dual feeder design pretty much exactly like you describe, I will see if I can find the pictures. It is something we expect to continue developing but I do not have a timeframe for it at the moment.

 

[Oberst Hajj]

Ad blockers sometimes block our pop up support window, you can always email [email protected]

We have mocked up the dual feeder design pretty much exactly like you describe, I will see if I can find the pictures. It is something we expect to continue developing but I do not have a timeframe for it at the moment.

Thanks for the quick reply. I'll check my ad blockers to see if that is it.

I'm still in the build process of my 270g FOWLR tank, so I will not need a dual feeder for a little while. That said, if you need someone to help test it out

 

[Oberst Hajj]

What about a double decker Plank? Two feeders one on top of the other that both drop food into a single mixing chamber?

 

[Obsessed]

Been rocking the Plank for about 2 months now. Love it, it’s been flawless and have a mixture of mysis brine and some other powders in there that feeds twice a day.

 

[ctenophore]

What about a double decker Plank? Two feeders one on top of the other that both drop food into a single mixing chamber?

Ok, this is a great idea! I was playing with the two planks facing each other idea, but the problem then becomes handling the weight of the second keg without additional support. One on top of the other maintains balance, and all it would require is a custom lid that can accept another keg on top. I'm on it...

 

[Oberst Hajj]

Ok, this is a great idea! I was playing with the two planks facing each other idea, but the problem then becomes handling the weight of the second keg without additional support. One on top of the other maintains balance, and all it would require is a custom lid that can accept another keg on top. I'm on it...

Sweet. My intended use of the Plank(s) are sitting on my sump, so they don't need to clamp to anything. For the double decker, the only issue I could think of was it being a PITA to add food to the bottom one.

 

[Daveobrien]

Are there options for larger Eurobraced tanks? I have 4" wide bracing. I saw in earlier posts some talk about extensions?

I'm an early plank adopter, got this summer. Rank it all of 2020 on back of classic tank. Upgraded to tank with 4" eurobrace, it doesn't fit. But, the XL base is available and was super easy to order and install.

Plank has been bulletproof for me so far.

First photo, me realizing I need a new base

Second photo, my upgrade to the larger base, and I added a longer extension tube. (new tank is Bigger) Was also my excuse to clean it for the first time

 

[PedroYoung]

curious if anyone knows of a resource for figuring out what size food to use for different fish? I've seen several people mention "proper food particle size for your specific fish", but not sure how to determine that. I've got tangs, a regal angel and soon to have a group of Bimac Anthias. Excited to get my Plank in.

 

[Oberst Hajj]

curious if anyone knows of a resource for figuring out what size food to use for different fish? I've seen several people mention "proper food particle size for your specific fish", but not sure how to determine that. I've got tangs, a regal angel and soon to have a group of Bimac Anthias. Excited to get my Plank in.

That would be a good resource, but would change based on the size/age of the individual fish I would think.

 

[Mike S]

Is anyone using the plank with an SCA tank with bracing? The bracing sits inside about 1/4 inch below the the top. The bracket has a lip on it that I assume is meant slip underneath a brace but doesn’t have enough of a gap yo clear the SCA brace. Thought about cutting off the lip or getting some plastic spacers to widen the gap. Curious to here if others came up with a mod to make it work?

 

[ctenophore]

Is anyone using the plank with an SCA tank with bracing? The bracing sits inside about 1/4 inch below the the top. The bracket has a lip on it that I assume is meant slip underneath a brace but doesn’t have enough of a gap yo clear the SCA brace. Thought about cutting off the lip or getting some plastic spacers to widen the gap. Curious to here if others came up with a mod to make it work?

Hi Mike,

We already have the spacers made for this. Email us at [email protected] and we'll get some headed your way.

 

[Mike S]

Hi Mike,

We already have the spacers made for this. Email us at [email protected] and we'll get some headed your way.

Awesome... thanks!

 

[oceanhighz]

From that picture it is really hard to tell how exactly your screen is sitting. There is room for the screen to sit in between the plank and the feeder assembly, you would still need to remove the feeder to remove the screen. We are working on a custom extrusion that would allow you to insert a Plank opening similar to the custom one shown above that fits standard screen profiles and I think that is what a lot of people will want. I don't have even a rough timeline of when that would be released at this point so some sort of custom solution would probably be needed to make it work for you.

Has any progress been made on the custom extrusion for people with screen tanks? I'd like to purchase one, but would prefer using it on the display vs trying to get the return pump to suck up the food from the sump, but I would prefer to have my screen as closed as possible (small gobies/wrasses I don't want to lose more of). The neat aquatics product was an idea, but I saw the surrounding hole was too large based on the measurements of both.

Thanks!

 

[AVAST Marine]

Has any progress been made on the custom extrusion for people with screen tanks? I'd like to purchase one, but would prefer using it on the display vs trying to get the return pump to suck up the food from the sump, but I would prefer to have my screen as closed as possible (small gobies/wrasses I don't want to lose more of). The neat aquatics product was an idea, but I saw the surrounding hole was too large based on the measurements of both.

Thanks!

It has, we will get some new pictures up here shortly!

 

[AVAST Marine]

The Plank

The Plank auto feeder represents years of our efforts to find and build a device that both serves the needs of our most delicate and selective aquarium inhabitants as well as our ability to realistically attend to their well-being. Many reef fish and most corals have evolved to continuously eat...

www.avastmarine.com

If you look at main picture, you can see the front of the Plank is now squared off so standard L brackets for screen top kits allow a very tight fit. The front is also now 2 parts and is offset below the rim of the tank, this allows for additional screen top options as well as prevents any possibility of a overflow/drip onto floor if the pump gets stopped up. There is a TikTok on bottom of that product page that shows assembly of the 2 part plank, which might make what I just said a little more clear

 

[FuzzySPS]

A lot of questions/concerns about dealing with screen tops. Is there any compelling reason not to mount the Plank on your sump and dispense food near your return pump to push it up and into the display tank below the waterline or am I overlooking something obvious?

 

[Oberst Hajj]

A lot of questions/concerns about dealing with screen tops. Is there any compelling reason not to mount the Plank on your sump and dispense food near your return pump to push it up and into the display tank below the waterline or am I overlooking something obvious?

There are quite a few people out there that do this (not just with the Plank), but it is not as common as one would expect it to be. The main concerns people have are the food gunking up the pump and food sitting on the bottom of your sump that does not get sucked up by the pump. The latter can be solved by putting a small pump in the return section to keep the food in there from settling to the bottom. TheReefDudes have a video or two on YouTube about it I think.

I'll be running this setup on my current build.

 

[FuzzySPS]

Thanks, O.H.,

Your reply is 100% in line with my thinking and I use a small power head there just as you suggest (and an occasional turkey baster blast just in case) and have never had an issue with food clogging a return pump (perhaps I’ve just been lucky?). Feeding via the sump sure negates the need to do screen top workarounds and reduces having feeders up top sitting as eyesores for those (not that I do) who view them that way. Thanks again for your two cents.